Great rail booking service
Overall the booking procedure is clear and easy to use. The only thing that I think needs to be reviewed is the seating option. There are two of us travelling together and we opted for window seat as part of a booking and it proceeded to separate us and give us each a window seat. We're not able to change the booking and couldn't exchange as that trip became booked out. We gave no seating preferences for subsequent bookings and we've been seated together. There should be a warning before you book that if you opt for "window" then there's a chance you'll be separated if travelling with others.
Reply from Rail Europe
Hello Jill,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback—really glad to hear the booking process felt clear and easy overall!
About the seating situation: I totally get how frustrating it must’ve been to end up in two separate window seats when you were traveling together. What actually happened is the system took the “window seat” preference a bit too literally and assigned one to each of you (even if that meant sitting apart). Not ideal when you just want to sit next to your travel buddy!
For UK trains—like the one you booked with (operated by Atomised)—specific seat selection isn’t possible, unfortunately. You can only choose preferences like window or aisle, and the system does its best to match that based on availability. Sadly, once seats are assigned and the booking is confirmed, we’re not able to make changes.
That said, onboard agents are usually helpful—so if there’s room to swap once you're on the train, they can often sort something out.
Appreciate you flagging this though. A little heads-up message at booking time would definitely help, and I’ll make sure to pass your suggestion along to the team.
If you ever need a hand in the future, we’re just a few clicks away. Hit “Help” at the top of the site, open the chatbot in the bottom right, and choose “Contact us”—we’ve got your back.
Wishing you smoother journeys ahead!
